U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has formally ordered the removal of the term “squaw” from federal geographic features, including 31 in Michigan alone, marking a step forward to reconcile place names that are now widely understood as offensive toward Indigenous people.
Teachers from Tennessee to Iowa are swept up in a wave of outrage led by GOP politicians nationwide over how schools teach kids about race in U.S. history.
Michigan Advance's David Hecker writes, "Michigan can and should be a place where every child, regardless of race or ZIP code, has the opportunity to get a quality public education that will set them on a path to success. But we’re not there yet, and it is incumbent on all of us to do the work necessary to strengthen public schools for all students, and specifically to ensure our classrooms are safe, empowering spaces for Black, Indigenous and other students of color."
From statehouses to Congress, Republicans have launched into a fight against the teaching of “critical race theory,” which just a year ago was a niche academic term. Experts in critical race theory say it’s about acknowledging how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society, and the concept is being mischaracterized by conservatives. But GOP lawmakers in the past few months have succeeded in pushing it to the top of state legislative agendas.
Jarvis DeBerry writes, "[...] in the U.S., neither a Black woman’s money, education or status serves as protection from mistreatment in labor and delivery. Financially secure Black women with Ivy League degrees have to worry just like those with less money and education if doctors or nurses will do (or not do) something that costs them their lives or their babies’ lives."
WSV’s Aundrea Sayrie writes, "One gets weary. Not including last week, Newsweek reports that an additional 181 Black people have been murdered at the hands of police since George Floyd, and it hasn’t been a year. When Derek Chauvin’s verdict was read last week, I did not rejoice. I did not feel excitement of any sort. I was in total shock witnessing the anomaly of accountability of a police officer. This never happens."
WSV’s Malachi Carter and guest Laurie Butler continue their discussion concerning the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.
WSV's Malachi Carter and guest Laurie Butler discuss the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes last year, was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
As part of WSV's "Badass Women" series, Columnist Amanda Yearling honors figure skater Surya Bonaly, who Yearling says is "powerful, unrelenting, and forever pushing the boundaries of the sport."
University of Michigan professor Melissa Borja says that as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year in Michigan, she’s concerned that acts of anti-Asian hate in America are on the rise.
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